1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a padded protective covering for protecting both the front and mount portions of a camera lenses.
2. Description of the Related Art
Camera lenses are both fragile and expensive. Professional photographers often have many lenses, and these lenses can represent a significant investment. A camera lens is constructed of a number of elements. The primary component is a tube, called a lens barrel, which contains optical components including glass or crystal optical lenses, mirrors, and prisms inside. The optical lenses within the barrel provide a variety of optical properties that allow photographers to take a variety of different photographs. Camera lenses and their components are well known in the art. The specific components of camera lenses, except for the external structure as it connects with the present invention, form no part of this invention. The term camera lens as used herein means the entire component of the barrel with interior optical lenses.
At one end of the barrel there is a mount for attaching the camera lens to the camera, and at the other end, referred to as the front end, there is an optical lens. The optical lens itself is generally made of a glass or crystal compound. In some cases there are lenses made of clear optical grade plastics such as Lucite, but because of the optical properties required for photography, the vast majority of lenses are made from glass or crystal. This lens component is breakable and can be chipped or nicked if hit with something hard. The barrel is typically made of light steel, aluminum, or plastic, which is brittle and relatively easily damaged. The mount is typically made of thin metal and retained on the camera lens by a series of small screws. The mount is fragile and can be easily damaged.
Many camera lenses have a threaded filter ring at the end, which allows the addition of a filter optical lens that can provide some photographic enhancement features. Such filter lenses are well known in the art. The filter ring is on the inside circumference of the front of the barrel, so the lens filter mounts to the end of the barrel. This filter lens can provide some very minimal protection of the optical lens at the end of the camera lens, but because it is also glass it can be broken.
Many of the components of the camera lenses are fragile and easily damaged. As mentioned, lens barrels are typically made of aluminum or plastic, which can be somewhat brittle and can be easily damaged. Inside large camera lenses, such as telephoto lenses, there are numerous smaller optical lenses and often prisms and mirrors to achieve various optical and focal properties. The components are typically made of plastic, glass, and crystal and are quite fragile. There is a need, therefore, for ways to protect the camera lens, the glass optical lenses and the mounting components at the end of the camera lens.
Many photographers use their equipment in a wide variety of locations. Many sports, wild life, and news photographers use their equipment out of doors and often in very rugged terrain. In many situations the photographer carries the equipment through a wide variety of terrain. Most photographers have a variety of carrying cases for their equipment, and generally these cases are well padded. But in many situations the photographer will have equipment out and ready to use. Often the photographer will have at least one camera slung over his or her neck, ready to be used, and will also often have at least one replacement lens slung over the neck or shoulder. Because of the cost of these camera lenses there is a need for some form of protection.
The most common form of protection for the camera lens is the standard lens cap, which is a hard plastic covering that snaps into the filter ring at the end of the camera lens. An example of this type of cap can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,278, to Saito. This provides a small degree of protection to the glass optical lens at the end of the camera lens, but does not protect the lens barrel and internal components from impact damage. This type of plastic lens cap also cannot protect the glass optical lens from an unusually hard impact. A second form of lens protection is a case or covering that covers the entire lens, and in some cases the camera body as well. An example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,589 to Nguyen. The '589 patent discloses a case that fits over the body of the camera and has an attachment lens tube case that fits over the lens or lenses, and can be attached to the camera body case. This is useful for transporting the camera and camera lens, but is not convenient for protecting the camera lens while mounted on the camera body, and does not allow for easy placement or removal.
A third form of camera lens protector is the “hood” which is actually a tube mounted to the end of the camera lens. An example is U.S. Pat. No. 7,682,091 to Zeck. The tube extends from the end of the camera lens and so provides some protection for the glass optical lens at the front end. But it provides no impact resistance. Additionally this type of attachment makes the camera lens long and much more likely to impact hard surfaces during transportation. A final example of prior art lens covers is the “Soft Lens Cover” disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/221,277 to Elowitz, filed Aug. 1, 2008, and published in US 2010/0027120. This application discloses a soft, thin covering made of neoprene or other thin flexible material, that stretches over the end portion of the lens. In one variation the soft lens cover can contain a hard plastic insert to provide protection for the camera lens. This application is drawn to a single layer of very thin material that can be stretched over the end of the camera lens, and which will provide only a bare minimum of protection for the camera lens. This device is designed only for the front end of the camera lens and is not suitable for protection of the lens mount. Additionally, the plastic insert creates a hard surface directly against the end of the camera lens, which means that the force of an impact will be transferred directly to the camera lens. There is a need, therefore, for a means for protecting all components of expensive camera lenses.